Early season players-only meeting reversed Texas Longhorns' fortunes

2/12

Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer

No. 1 Baylor Bears (10-1, 7-1 in Big 12);

Result: W 41-38 over TCU;

When the offense had its worst game of the season, the defense picked up the scoring load to carry the Bears to a victory. It'll be interesting to see what Ahmad Dixon's future is with the team after his targeting call caused TCU's Gary Patterson to blow up in the post game press conference. -- Josh Friemel

AUSTIN — After three games and two embarrassing losses, the seniors at Texas desperately feared a grim situation would spiral downward even more.

So the players gathered in the team meeting room without coaches in September and gave voice to all the conflicted emotions inside.

“We were pissed off, and we pulled together,” senior defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat said. “We were tired of being known as the team that was not up to Texas’ standard.”

In a surprising turnaround given the early struggles, mounting injuries and the speculation surrounding Mack Brown, Texas can claim at least a share of the Big 12 title by spoiling Baylor’s final game at Floyd Casey Stadium on Saturday.

If Oklahoma upsets Oklahoma State earlier Saturday, then Texas (8-3, 7-1 Big 12) could be playing for a solo title and a BCS bid to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Texas players acknowledged the unfamiliar situation of rooting for their Red River rivals.

Much of the current success goes back to that pivotal period after the losses to BYU and Ole Miss. No players recalled — or at least volunteered — specifics that galvanized the group.

Talking through the problems might have been the biggest breakthrough.

“You’re sitting in a room where your season isn’t going the way you want to. The team can go one of two directions,” senior offensive guard Mason Walters said.

“I think this team did a good job of collectively coming together with a single focus and single mind and moving forward from that point.”

Since that 1-2 start, Texas has won seven of eight games, with the only loss to Oklahoma State.

They’ve developed an offensive identity, behind a running game that strives for 60 rushes a game and a deep passing game to keep defenses honest.

Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson has transformed a unit. In conference games, Texas ranks third in total defense and second in scoring defense. He has more work to do this week, with starting linebacker and leading tackler Steve Edmond out for the season with a lacerated liver. Peter Jinkens and Timothy Cole, who have played little lately, are now starters on the depth chart.

Even Brown acknowledged that this ranks as one of his three most trying seasons at Texas, along with his first year in 1998 and the 5-7 implosion in 2010.

He was asked about the irony of being a Big 12 coach of the year candidate while rumors swirled about his status.

“What I’ve learned is this place helps you focus on your job and not worry about all the stuff around it, because that gets you in trouble,” Brown said. “What I’ve learned is my job is to try to win the game on Saturday and keep these guys focused and keep our coaches focused. The rest of it is really unimportant.”

While the Longhorns cracked the BCS Top 25 on Sunday, they remain 131/2-point underdogs at Baylor.

The last time Texas was a similar underdog was against Oklahoma in October in the Cotton Bowl. The Longhorns responded with a 36-20 win. They understand the implications of a similar result.

“We can finish it off the right way and have a good ending to it,” cornerback Carrington Byndom said.

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